E-Week for Nov. 8

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Stew and the Negro Problem will come to Williams College on Saturday, Nov. 10.

The performance will take place at 8 p. m. on the MainStage of the ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance and is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets are available online at http://62center. williams.edu/62center/ or by contacting the theatre box office at 413-597-2425, Tues. through Sat., 1 to 5 p. m.

Stew, a Los Angeles-bred musician, launched the Negro Problem in the early ‘90s. The performance group received mainstream attention for its production Passing Strange, which won a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Book of a Musical." Stew and his collaborator Heidi Rodewald aim to challenge racial preconceptions through their music. They lead two critically acclaimed bands: the Afro-Baroque band The Negro Problem and the multi-disciplinary ensemble Stew.

Stew is a two-time Obie winner and four-time Tony nominee. He is also well-known as the composer of "Gary Come Home" from SpongeBob Squarepants.

Rodewald has spent more than a decade as a performer, arranger, and producer. She also wrote and performed with the female punk band Wednesday Week.

The event is sponsored by Africana Studies, American Studies, and the Lecture Committee.

Williams Concert and Chamber Choirs in Thompson Memorial Chapel

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.-- The Williams College Department of Music presents a concert of the Williams Concert Choir and the Williams Chamber Choir in Thompson Memorial Chapel on the Williams campus on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. This free event is open to the public.

Seats in the Chapel are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, no tickets are necessary.

This latest vocal concert by the combined Williams choirs is titled La musica de Espana: music about Spain or by Spanish composers. The program is the inspiration of visiting director Katie Gardiner who is using her residency to work with a large group of talented singers, "I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Concert and Chamber Choirs at Williams College for the fall 2012 semester." Ms. Gardiner holds bachelors and masters degrees in music education from the Hartt School of Music and a master of music in choral conducting from the Eastman School of Music. Joining the Williams Chamber Choir on Romancero Gitano by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) is guitarist Robert Phelps, who is Artist Associate in Guitar at Williams. Later in the program Mr. Phelps is featured with the Williams Concert Choir on Desvelado Dueno Mio by Tomes de Torrejon y Velasco (1644-1728) and is joined by Berkshire Symphony Solo Competition winner David Kealhofer, cello. The Williams Concert Choir also performs pieces by Busto, Encina, Guerrero, Victoria, Stroope, Hatfield, and Harris.

http://music. williams.edu. Concert hotline: 413-597-3146 Thompson Memorial Chapel is located at 860 Main Street on the Williams College campus. For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel.
Nov. 11

‘Here Comes the Kid’ - A tribute to his father, Woody Guthrie

RUTLAND -- Arlo Guthrie honors the music and legacy of his legendary father upon the centennial of Woody Guthrie’s birth with an unforgettable night of songs and stories which confirm that the folk tradition started by Woody remains alive and well through the music of his son. Arlo Guthrie performs at The Paramount Theatre on Nov. 11, 2012 at 6 p.m.

Throughout his own career Arlo Guthrie has honored his father in song as well as in life. With the centennial of Woody’s 100th birthday approaching, Arlo continues the celebration of Woody Guthrie’s immeasurable contributions to the landscape of American folk music.

Since childhood, Arlo was amazed by the creative genius of his father and his friends that would drop by: Leadbelly, Brownee McGee, and Cisco Houston to name a few. Not surprising, Arlo drew from those experiences and he in turn became a delineative figure for a new generation. Arlo has long paid homage to his dad with his own renditions of Woody’s songs, but of equal importance - Woody’s legacy is well defined in Arlo’s own works: in his humor, his political and social activism, and his undeniable gift for storytelling. Arlo’s exceptional solo shows are a unique and inspiring experience providing an intimacy with the audience that is unparalleled. Here Comes the Kid will run nationwide through 2013 in select venues, and will celebrate the legacy of Guthrie’s father in a manner to make any parent proud: to take what his dad started, and make it his own.

Tickets ($44. 50 - $54. 50) are available online at ParamountLive.org and at The Paramount Theatre Box Office located in downtown Rutland. Charge by phone orders can be placed by calling 802 775-0903.

This late Shakespearean tragedy is no Hamlet; perhaps that is part of its fascination. Although Timon is as flawed as Shakespeare’s other tragic figures, Timon of Athens is a tragedy of ideas in which Shakespeare illustrates contrasting modes of excessive conduct. As Timon careens between ostentatious display of wealth to abject poverty, his friends - poets, painters, merchants, politicians, courtesans, and sycophants - blow hot and cold. Vices such as worldly folly and covetousness were central to the Medieval Morality plays the young Shakespeare could have been familiar with.

In this class we will look at how Shakespeare is reaching back to earlier ideas in structuring Timon of Athens’s contrasting modes of excess. We’ll search for the play’s imperfections as well as its strengths. And we’ll discuss how this winter’s tale of old resonates in the 21st century.

The lecture takes place in the Hunter Seminar Room at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont. The registration fee is $20. For more information and to register, visit greenmtnacademy.org or call Veronica VanDerMark at 802-768-8525.

On Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., Shakespeare’s "Timon of Athens" from the National Theatre in London will be shown in a high-definition broadcast performance in the Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy. The performance is part of the Saturday Series presented in partnership with Burr and Burton Academy and Northshire Performing Arts.

Simon Russell Beale (Collaborators, London Assurance) takes the title role in Nicholas Hytner’s bold production, which makes Timon of Athens more relevant and compelling than ever before.

Tickets are $18 for adults; $12 for senior citizens; $9 for students and can be purchased online at bba. ticketjunior.com or call 802-549-8118.

Gourmet Food & Artisan Crafts Fair at ICM

MANCHESERTER CENTER -- Back by popular demand, Israel Congregation of Manchester’s (ICM) Gourmet Food & Artisan Crafts Fair will be held on Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. In addition to showcasing exceptional artists from throughout the Northshire, the fair has expanded to include producers of specialty foods -- from unique pickles to gourmet chocolates. There will be a special area featuring holiday books for children and traditional Chanukah items. To top it off, three very talented members will present a variety of cooking demonstrations throughout the day.

You will find the perfect gift selection from a diversity of talented area artisans, including Vicki Greene’s eye-catching quilts and quirky dolls, Saragay Klebanoff’s jazzy jewelry, Elinor Katz’s outstanding ceramic constructions, and Matthew Lerman’s award-winning photographs of the natural world -- from birds and farm animals to mountains and oceans.

Tantalize your taste buds by attending and sampling foods at one or more of our cooking demonstrations in the ICM kitchen. At 10 a.m., Lynne Andreen will show us how to prepare raw foods into delicious appetizers and main courses while providing important information about the specific values of integrating raw foods into your menus. At 12 p.m., Yuval Sela will bring Middle Eastern delicacies to life as he prepares savory appetizers and tasty hors d’oeuvres. At 2pm, Cathy Kimmel makes the preparation of rugelach, a traditional Jewish fruit-filled pastry, look easy while impressing your guests.

ICM’s Gourmet Food & Artisan Crafts Fair is free and open to the public. Mark your calendars to treat yourself to a sensational event prior to the holiday gift-giving season. Israel Congregation is located at 6025 Main Street, Route 7A, in Manchester Center.

Nov. 15

The Poetry of Color: Collages, Paintings & Photographs.

MANCHESTER CENTER -- Equinox Village and The Greater Manchester Arts Council are proud to present this exhibit by Danby, Vermont-artist Linda Durkee. The exhibit opens with live music by Christopher Placella and hors d’oeuvres from the Equinox Village kitchen at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Equinox Village. It is free and open to the public.

"In making art, I celebrate the power of beauty and communicate the energy of joy," Durkee writes in her artist statement.

Words are certainly useful in conveying abstract thoughts. Durkee spent her formal education steeped in language. The Rutland-area native earned her B. A. in English Literature from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N. Y. and went on to earn her M. A. from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Durkee spent her first career as a journalist, editor, speech writer and teacher at such organizations as The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. , the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U. N. Environment Program in Geneva, Switzerland.

While working in Washington, DC and in Europe, Durkee spent her free time viewing art. She began painting in 1980 and studied art with Washington, DC, artist Debra Stern Nicholas.

In 2001, after several writing careers, Durkee moved back to Vermont to be near her family and to do her art full time. Now her favorite method of communication is through her artwork.

Her home is a perfect place for art making. It was built in the 1800s, and in its history, it was used as a 13-cow milk barn.

"My studio has a sliding glass door and a deck and a view of the Green Mountains," Durkee said. "All of that nature is in my work: the shapes of nature, the mountains." But she is careful to note that she doesn’t attempt to paint the things exactly as she sees them as many other artists do.

"I don’t paint from the outside. I paint from the inside," Durkee said.

"It’s the inner life that is my area of exploration." Nor has Durkee given up on language entirely. She is a published poet and co-author of a screenplay being marketed by an agent in Hollywood.

Join Durkee, Placella, and the community’s art enthusiasts for the opening of this exciting exhibit at 5:30 p. m. on Thursday, November 15 at Equinox Village. The opening is free and open to the public. Call (802) 362-4061 to R. S. V. P. The exhibit will remain on display until Monday, January 14.

Through Nov. 25

Williams art museum hosts ‘Laylah Ali: The Greenheads Series’

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Williams College Museum of Art continues its show "Laylah Ali: The Greenheads Series" -- the first time the Greenheads series, created between 1996 and 2005, will be shown as a comprehensive body of work -- is on view through Nov. 25. The museum is free and open to the public.

The exhibit will be part of the museum’s new season celebration, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. There will also be a gallery conversation on "The Greenheads Series," on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 4:30 p.m.

The figures inhabiting Ali’s works -- the Greenheads -- are, according to supplied material, "enigmatic round-headed beings of indeterminate sex and race who inhabit a regimented, dystopian world where odd and menacing, though sometimes strangely humorous, encounters prevail."

The Williams College Museum of Art is located on Main Street. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For information call 413-597-2429 or wcma.williams.edu

Through December 12

Plein Air Vermont

The Benningon Center for the Arts

Bennington

Seventy paintings by artists invited to participate in the Plein Air Vermont event that took place in early September are on view at The Bennington. All work is of the area and for sale.

Through Jan. 31, 2013

Library hosts opening of ‘Landschap’ exhibit

Bennington 802-442-9051

The Bennington Free Library continues its installation of Wall Works, "Landschap," which features recent works by Aimee LaPorte, through Jan. 31, 2013.

LaPorte’s exhibition features paintings of area landscapes, the inspiration for this show’s title, selections from a colonial inspired portrait series of beloved family pets and an ongoing series on bridges which incorporates mixed media elements.

LaPorte grew up and attended schools locally. She received her BA from Alfred University’s School of Art and Design and MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, affiliated with Tufts University.

The Bennington Free Library is located at 101 Silver St. For information call 802-442-9051.

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